One of the best ways to attract and retain good employees is to promote an office culture in which they feel comfortable, are able to thrive, and can grow their careers. However, putting this kind of culture into practice can prove a challenge, especially in companies who already have long-established ways of carrying out business and stiff power structures.

One of the most important aspects of a healthy company culture is how comfortable employees feel sharing their ideas. If they feel stifled or unable to safely express themselves, morale won’t be as high as it could be. Low morale can lead to low overall productivity and conflict. You can help employees feel comfortable by offering them abundant ways to communicate with management and by instituting an open door policy for your office.

Communication is a two way street, and it’s important for employees to feel as though they understand what the company’s overall strategy is. Employees are more likely to feel like part of a team when they’re informed about what’s happening across the company. Company transparency, especially when paired with a freedom of expression, can help some of your perceptive employees share their ideas about how they would improve the company’s practices or even introduce new ones that would have never crossed your mind. A good way to keep all your employees informed is to hold occasional company-wide meetings. Some companies hold these meetings as often as every month, while others meet on a quarterly basis.

Working to have happy workers can go a long way to improving morale and actually increases productivity. When your employees are happy, it helps you make more money.

When starting a company you will need to sit down and plan out all things really well, especially all the legal aspects that will affect putting up and running your business plus strategies on how your business will operate and earn profits. You will also need to address issues, such as contracts, company debts, taxes and liabilities and other business-related legal matters. Since all these require a thorough understanding of business law, it would be wise of your firm to consult with a business attorney who has expertise in the field.

Among the long list of issues requiring comprehensive knowledge in business law is employment. Employment is a particularly essential issue when outlining your general plans for a business formation, for human resource is a major element in the success or downfall of your business. Thus, to be assured of consistent company growth, all legal issues involving employee-employer relationship, which starts with the stating of the credentials desired of employees through the actual hiring process, the implementation of the employee manual and development of a system that will ensure clear communication processes and a healthy working environment, must be addressed effectively.

Probably one specific element that will address all such issues is your company’s employment manual as it will speak of your employees’ duties, rights and privileges; what the company expects from them and what they can expect from the company in return. It will also contain company stipulations on employee dress codes, disciplinary procedures, company policies on promotion, compensation plans, employee confidentiality, non-compete clauses and employment manual revisions. Your expert legal adviser can help you draft all these and come up with a manual that will really benefit employees, but without compromising your company’s interests. Other issues that may be provided in the manual are rules on employee entry and exit, issues on discrimination and harassment, employee contracts and employment law litigation.

Today, differences in sexual orientation and sexual preference are becoming much more widely accepted, and it is illegal for an employer to ever discriminate against an employee or potential employee on the basis of sexual orientation. Unfortunately, sometimes such unfair discrimination still occurs, leaving victims of discrimination facing uncomfortable work environments or even losing their jobs. Even if a person does not lose his or her job based on sexual orientation discrimination, his or her work environment could become very uncomfortable, or a worker could be denied opportunities for advancement that they deserve.

There are, however, signs of employer discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation that you may notice in the workplace. If you do notice these signs, either directed at yourself or at someone else, you may be able to talk with an employment lawyer about the legality of such actions. In many cases, employment lawyers all over the U.S. have been able to not only stop discrimination in the workplace, but also prevent future incidents of it.

Signs You Can Look For

While in some cases discrimination is subtle and hard to notice, other signs of discrimination are overt. If you notice the following changes made after your employer is made aware of your, or another employee’s, sexual orientation, you could be facing discrimination:

Sudden and unwarranted firing

Sudden and unwarranted cuts in pay rate

Undue criticism / bullying

Changes in benefits coverage

Limits on advancement

Each of these actions might be taken by an employer who is discriminating against a person based on his or her sexual orientation. But such behavior is not allowed, and victims of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation likely have legal options available to them, especially if they lose their job as a result of illegal and inexcusable discrimination. However, even if an employee is not fired, they still might be able to receive compensation for the discrimination that they were forced to suffer.